Ireland Trip Part 2 (Finally!)

It's been almost 2 years since our trip so I guess I should finish the posts about our trip. It was an amazing trip. I shared some of the photos from our trip on a previous post

Daniel at the Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Scenery from the Dingle Penisula drive

We flew into Shannon, Ireland and drove up to see the Cliffs of Moher before heading to our first of many B&B's. We stayed in Tralee the first night and drove down to Dingle on day 2. The drive the first day was pretty hard for Daniel. We left New York City at 6:30pm and got to Shannon when it was 5am Ireland time. It was really hard to sleep on the plane so we were pretty much going on about 36 hours of no sleep. We made it to the B&B in Tralee though and took a much needed nap. We ate at a little pub in town and I had the best BLT I have EVER eaten. The bacon in Ireland is more like what we would call ham (kind of). It's really thick and really, really good. We left Tralee on day 2 to drive through Dingle on our way to Waterville. Like I mentioned in Part 1, we loved, loved, loved Dingle. It was so beautiful.

Scenery from Ring of Kerry drive

Puffins on Skellig Michael

Waterville, Ireland

On the boat after seeing Skellig Michael

Going back down the 600 steps we climb to get to the top of Skellig Michael

On day 3, we took a trip out to Skellig Michael just off the Southern coast of Ireland. If you ever make it to Ireland, you really should consider going out to the Skelligs. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The trip out to the Skelligs takes up pretty much the whole day. We didn't plan for this when I made our reservations at our Bed and Breakfasts. We ended up having to drive to Kinsale after leaving the Skelligs. We got there much later than I had really planned. This was probably the only part of the trip when things got a little heated. We were exhausted from our excursion and we had a hard time finding B&ampB. Needless to say, we were both pretty flustered by the time we actually checked in at our B&B. Kinsale was a lovely little town and after we calmed down and rested a bit, we had a great night. We ate at a pub and one of the best meals and conversations of the entire trip.

Pub in Kilkenny that was built in 1400s

Daniel at pub in Kilkenny

Rock of Cashel

Day 4, we headed to Kilkenny. It was the only day during our time there that the weather was bad. It rained almost everyday but it would only last  for about 10 minutes and the sun would be out the whole time. On our fourth day there it was overcast and gloomy for most of the morning. So it was nice that we were just driving for that time. By the time we reached Kilkenny, it had cleared up. We spent some time walking around the city and visited a castle. We had some time to waste before we could check into our bed and breakfast so we decided to drive out to see the Rock of Cashel. I recommend visiting this as well. It was a spur of the moment decision to go and I'm so glad that we did. It was very interesting. After getting back to Kilkenny, we went to eat at a pub that was built in the 1400's. It had a very interesting history. It was established by a woman who was later accused of being a witch and ended up fleeing country. We had the most amazing dessert. It was a toffee pudding and it was delicious.

Daniel outside the Guinness brewery

View of Dublin from the top of the Guinness brewery

On day 5 we headed to Dublin. We stayed at a hotel that was built in part of an old castle. While in Dublin, we visited Trinity College and the Guinness brewery. We did a lot of walking around the city and we were so exhausted from the trip that once we got back to our room we decided to call it an early night. I was not overly impressed with Dublin. I'm glad we got to see the city but if we ever make it back to Ireland, I don't think I will visit Dublin again.

It was a whirlwind of a trip and I truly hope I can make it back there one day. There are so many areas that we didn't get to stop and see while we were driving through. It is such a beautiful country. If you ever get the chance to go, take it.